BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG

Detroit Free Press Columnist

Related Links

Pistons coach John Kuester / KIRTHMON F. DOZIER/DFP

More

ADVERTISEMENT

I like John Kuester, I really do. But sometimes in pro sports, and especially in the NBA, a coach reaches a point of no return with his team. Kuester is there now. His departure from the Pistons no longer looks like a question of if, but when.

Kuester sat in his postgame news conference and tried to calmly explain what went wrong in his team's latest loss. I felt like I was watching a good man calmly saying "Hey, we shouldn't smoke any more cigarettes," while his house burned around him. He might be correct, but that isn't the point anymore.

What happened? Start with this: With 54.2 seconds left, and the Pistons down 97-96, Kuester called for Rodney Stuckey to go into the game. In the coach's mind, it was probably a simple and obvious decision. The Pistons were about to go back on defense, and Stuckey is a better pick-and-roll defender than backup guard Will Bynum. (Bynum does not keep anybody from scoring except the guys on his own team.)

Stuckey had been on the bench for the whole fourth quarter, and he threw a little whining fit as he stood up. He obviously did not want to enter the game, and it showed on the court: Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge easily scored off a pick-and-roll.

Afterward, Kuester said, "Guys that are on the bench have got to be ready to play. Whether I don't call their number the entire fourth quarter. ... Ben Wallace, he was ready to go. The thing that has to happen is the energy we need from that person, whoever comes into the game, we gotta get ready to go."

Was Stuckey right? No. Is Rip Hamilton right in his ongoing feud with his coach? No. Was it right for Tayshaun Prince to publicly mock the "buffoonery" of how Hamilton's situation was handled? No again.

But this isn't about being right. You don't win championships in the NBA for following all 10 commandments and paying your taxes on time. Coaching in this league is largely about handling egos and agendas and agents and entourages, because every team has them.

Is Kuester a good X's and O's coach? Honestly, at this point, I don't even think that matters. What matters is that this isn't working. Joe Dumars might not have the financial flexibility to fire a coach right now, but once the team gets sold, that will change.

Now, back to the game: After Stuckey went back to the bench, where he apparently wanted to be all along, the Pistons called a 20-second time-out. They were down 99-96, but there were 36 seconds left. There was no need to rush a three-pointer.

So what happened? Ben Gordon tried to get open for a three and was guarded. He passed to Austin Daye -- who rushed a three-pointer.

"We should have gone for two," Kuester said. "The execution of the play did not work out the way we wanted to."

But Gordon was asked if they were supposed to shoot a three and said: "I guess everybody was a bit confused, and we forced a shot up."

And Daye was asked if players could ask more questions to be clear on what the coach wants. Here is what he said:

"Uh ... I don't know, man. I'm in my second year, so ... I mean, yeah, I think I could ask more questions, but also I think it falls on ... the collective whole team, us all being on the whole page. And I think at times we are and we're really successful. And at times, when it's crucial, we're not ... at times."

It was pretty clear: He didn't want to say it was the coach's fault, but he thought it was the coach's fault. That was the story of the night, and it is the story of the season. At some point, unfortunately, it will be the story of Kuester's Pistons tenure.